In a typical poultry processing plant, a conveyor runs through the various sections of the plant. In some parts of the plant, the chicken or carcass hangs down from the conveyor, while in other parts, it is supported from a conveyor below. In the case in which it hangs from the conveyor, trolleys attached to the conveyor serve as bases with sets of hooks, called shackles, specially formed to retain chicken and chicken carcasses hanging upside down. A shaft is located intermediate the shackles and the trolley base. This shaft is pivotally connected to the base. Depending on the stage of processing, the shackles are formed to grasp the feet of the chicken or the knuckle of the joint below the thigh. In the case where the chicken carcass is supported above the conveyor, shafts extend up from the conveyor with cones located on the end of the shafts with the taper of the cone directed upward. The shafts are carried by bases attached to the conveyor. For this stage of the process, the chicken carcass has had its guts removed and the hollow carcass is placed over the cone which is partially truncated.
The conveyor moves continuously at a fairly high rate of speed, and at some initial point on the lines, the chickens are manually hung from the shackles or placed on the cones. As with any processing plant, it is important to track inputs and know where, and at what stage, productivity losses occur. Because the conveyor runs continuously, and is loaded manually and continuously, it is hard to maintain an accurate count of chickens processed. Even if an accurate count of the chickens loaded is managed, as the conveyor progresses through the plant, chickens and chicken carcasses may fall from the conveyor for various reasons. These reasons include inadequate initial hanging of the chicken, flailing about of the chicken, entanglement of adjoining chickens and shackles, unbalanced placement on the cones, and interaction of processing equipment and workers with the chickens. Therefore, in addition to an initial count of chickens placed on the conveyor, it is desirable to monitor the conveyor at various points in the plant to know where any deviations between input and output originate. The present invention provides accurate counts to satisfy this need for information. Different embodiments of the invention apply to each of the types of conveyors.